Use of the Shaw scalpel in head and neck surgery.
Fifty patients undergoing a variety of head and neck surgical procedures were used to study a new thermally activated scalpel. No electric current passes through the patient and, thus, no ground pad is needed. Subjective equipment evaluation resulted in mean scores of 3.8 (1 = worthless and 5 = excellent) for effectiveness of hemostasis and 4.1 for blade sharpness. The Shaw scalpel system is a worthwhile surgical tool 70% of the time. It is excellent for raising flaps and for use in precise surgery where small capillary bleeding typically obscures visibility (ie, parotid surgery).
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006257:Head / Q000601:surgery*; D006488:Hemostasis, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D006358:Hot Temperature / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013525:Surgical Instruments